Live Support
Did you see us on the news?2026 State-by-State Finder Fee Limits: What Recovery Agents Need to Know
The short answer
There is no national finder fee rule for surplus funds recovery. Each state decides for itself, and the answers fall into four groups: no statutory cap, a percentage cap, a flat dollar cap, and a professional gate that restricts who may file at all. A fee that is standard in one state is a statutory violation two states over, and in a handful of places the agreement itself is void regardless of the percentage. Confirm the rule for the state where the property sold before you sign anything, because the cap attaches to the property location and not to where you or the claimant live.
The groupings below reflect our internal compliance research as of January 2026. Statutes change, and several states have amended these rules in the last three years. Nothing here is legal advice. Verify the current statute for the state you are working in before you sign an agreement or quote a fee.
Why these caps exist
Surplus funds recovery has a structural problem built into it. The money already belongs to the claimant. The service being sold is knowledge that the money exists plus the administrative work of proving entitlement. A person who does not know they are owed $60,000 will agree to almost any percentage to receive some of it, because any fraction of an unknown windfall feels like a gain.
Legislatures noticed. Over the last two decades most states have either capped the fee, required licensing, or restricted when an agreement can be signed. The rules are uneven because each one was written in response to whatever abuse showed up in that state first.
The four kinds of limits
1. No statutory cap
The largest group. These states leave the fee to the agreement between the parties, subject to general consumer protection law and to unconscionability doctrine. A market standard of around 30 percent has settled in most of them. That is a market convention, not a legal ceiling, and an unreasonable fee can still be challenged.
States we treat as having no specific statutory fee cap on surplus recovery agreements: Alabama, Alaska, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
2. Percentage caps
| State | Limit type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Texas | Percentage of recovery | Up to 20 percent, and the state restricts who may pursue a claim on another person's behalf. |
| Colorado | Percentage of recovery | Up to 20 percent, with a waiting period after the sale before an agreement can be signed. |
| Florida | Percentage of recovery | Roughly 12 percent, paired with licensing and bonding requirements. |
| Washington | Percentage of recovery | A low single digit percentage, among the tightest in the country. |
| Tennessee | Percentage of recovery | Around 10 percent, with a professional licensing requirement attached. |
| Arizona | Percentage or fixed ceiling | Whichever is less, with the fixed ceiling in the low thousands per case. |
| Nevada | Percentage or fixed ceiling | Similar structure to Arizona, whichever produces the smaller fee. |
| Arkansas | Percentage or fixed ceiling | Similar structure, verify the current figure before filing. |
3. Flat dollar caps
| State | Limit type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| North Carolina | Fixed dollar amount | A low fixed ceiling per claim that does not scale with the size of the recovery. |
Flat caps change the economics completely. In a fixed-fee state the work required for a $200,000 claim pays the same as the work for a $6,000 claim, which pushes agents toward high volume and simple files.
4. Professional gates and prohibitions
| State | Restriction |
|---|---|
| California | Restricts fees on excess proceeds claims and, on the mortgage side, effectively bars fee-based consulting arrangements with foreclosed homeowners. |
| Maryland | Foreclosure consultant statute governs contact with distressed homeowners and imposes contract, timing and disclosure requirements. |
| Texas | Non-attorneys are limited in pursuing claims on behalf of another party. |
| Florida | Licensing plus an insurance or bonding requirement before soliciting claimants. |
| Tennessee | Professional licensing required before soliciting or filing on behalf of a claimant. |
| Connecticut and Vermont | Strict foreclosure practice means many files never generate a surplus in the first place. |
What the cap actually applies to
This is where people get into trouble even with good intentions. A fee cap generally applies to the total consideration a claimant gives up in exchange for help recovering the funds. That includes more than the headline percentage.
- Administrative or processing fees charged on top of the contingency
- Document retrieval, title search, and notary costs passed through to the claimant
- Fees paid to an affiliated entity you control
- Any assignment structure where the discount on the purchase functions as a fee
Structuring around a cap with a side agreement or a related entity is the fastest route to an enforcement action. If the total value moving from the claimant to you exceeds the statutory limit, the arrangement is exposed regardless of how many documents it is spread across.
Timing rules deserve their own attention
Several states do more than cap the number. They restrict when an agreement can be signed at all. A common pattern is a blackout period after the sale during which no recovery agreement may be entered into, meant to give the former owner time to learn about the funds independently.
An agreement signed inside a blackout period is often void, which means the work is unpaid even if the claim succeeds. Track the sale date on every file and know the waiting period in that state before you send an agreement.
Practical compliance checklist
- 1Identify the state where the property sold. That state's rules govern, not yours and not the claimant's current address.
- 2Confirm whether a cap applies, and whether it is a percentage, a fixed amount, or the lesser of the two.
- 3Confirm whether any licensing, bonding, or attorney involvement is required before you solicit.
- 4Confirm whether a waiting period applies between the sale and a valid agreement.
- 5Put the fee in writing in plain language, with the dollar estimate shown alongside the percentage.
- 6Disclose in writing that the claimant may file without you at no cost to you.
- 7Keep the signed agreement, the disclosure, and the date-stamped contact history for every file.
Where this is heading
The direction of travel has been consistent. States that had no rule are adding one, and states that had a percentage cap are tightening it or adding a licensing gate. A 2023 United States Supreme Court ruling on the retention of surplus sale proceeds drew national attention to the issue and pushed several legislatures to revisit their statutes, which is why a rule you learned in 2022 may no longer be current.
Recovery firms that survive the next few years will be the ones whose agreements would still be enforceable if the rules tightened again. If you have questions about how this affects a specific file, we are at (888) 545-8007.
Frequently asked questions
What is a finder fee in surplus funds recovery?
It is the compensation a recovery firm receives for locating a claimant, verifying entitlement, and handling the claim, usually structured as a percentage of the amount recovered and paid only if the claim succeeds.
Which state's fee cap applies if the claimant has moved?
The rule of the state where the property sold. The funds are held under that state's law, and its limits attach to the claim regardless of where the claimant now lives or where the recovery firm is based.
Is 30 percent a legal fee for surplus funds recovery?
It is the common market rate in states with no statutory cap, and it is a violation in states that cap at 20 percent, 12 percent, or a fixed dollar amount. There is no single lawful percentage nationwide.
What happens if a recovery agreement exceeds the statutory cap?
Consequences range from the fee being reduced to the cap, to the entire agreement being void, to civil penalties and consumer protection exposure. Some states also treat a void agreement as grounds for refunding amounts already collected.
Do fee caps apply to attorneys handling surplus claims?
Attorney fees are usually governed by professional conduct rules on reasonableness rather than by the finder fee statute, and some states carve attorneys out of the cap entirely. That carve-out is one reason attorney partnerships are common in tightly regulated states.
Think there may be surplus funds in your name?
We check the sale record at no cost and we will tell you plainly if there is nothing there. No fee is owed unless funds are recovered.
(888) 545-8007
